A Delicious Weekend in Bologna

*Firstly, I would like to apologize for the long absence of new posts. I assure you that I did not forget about the blog, but was kept away from it by the rigorous demands of my schoolwork. I've finished with two courses, history (worst class ever) and philosphy (surprisingly, much better than history). Now I'm just hanging around in Bologna before I head home for Christmas, so I will catch you up on my exciting life.*

Cioccoshow

Every year, Bologna hosts a giant chocolate festival, the Cioccoshow. Spread around the center of the city are big tents filled with tons of stands selling every shape, size, and kind of chocolate you can imagine. Ania and I followed our noses to find the tastiest treats. And it was there that I had my first Italian cioccolato caldo (hot chocolate), which is basically just melted chocolate in a cup. I don't even need to tell you how good it was, because I know your mouth is already watering with the idea. I'll give you some pictures to feast your eyes upon, and while they're uploading, I think I'll go find some chocolate myself...

Fiera di Santa Lucia

Another bolognese tradition: under the porticoes of my neighboring church every year is a Christmas market, named for St. Lucy. It's very cute, and you must take my word for it, because I'm still saying that after walking through it multiple times a day for a few weeks now. Beside the many candy and scarf stands, the Fiera di Santa Lucia is known for is large collection of presepe (nativity scenes).

Cooking lesson with Ania

The icing on the cake this weekend was having the first (of many!) cooking lesson with my roommate, Ania. Armed with her notebook filled with her nonna's recipes, she instructed Vicky and I how to make Lasagne bianche marchigiane, a white lasagna from her home region. I will put up the recipe in a new post. Stay tuned!

Signed, the Sengenblogger